Losing Control
by lizardpotato
Summary: Set before Stefan Salvatore's 162nd birthday, Lexi moves to Forks hoping to live a human life again, but when she meets the Cullens, things don't turn out as planned. (I've shifted the timelines here - set after Breaking Dawn but before episode 8 of season 1 of TVD)
1. Chapter 1

Forks. It must be the most overcast place in the country. Here I can experience all I've missed, here I can try to live again.

There's a new girl today. She's a complete surprise, and a complete mystery. Nobody knew she was coming, and the school just accepted her with no records at all. We just know her name: Alexia Branson.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Lexi**_

My God. I had completely forgotten how tedious school was! 12 boys tried to flirt with me today – they all failed miserably might I add. I strolled into the cafeteria determined to get a table to myself, and I was absolutely starving… in more than one way. Once I had my food, I was able to observe everyone else. The school hadn't changed much since the last time I'd come here, but technology obviously meant there were some differences.

One table of people stood out from the others. 7 shockingly pale, beautiful people sat at their table with an incredibly tanned man… he did not look old enough to pass for a high school kid, and he was clearly 'with' the youngest looking, a sweet 17 year old girl.

Of course, the reason they stuck out wasn't because of their beauty. I'd lived through centuries; I'd seen pretty people before. I'd seen what they were before as well: cold ones, and they were all staring at me.

_**Edward**_

My family was bombarding me with thoughts:

"Who is she?"

"She doesn't smell right… I've never caught that scent before."

"I can't get a read on her emotions… that can't be right."

"Dad, she was in my English class and I tried to _show _her something but it didn't work!"

"Could this be anther problem?"

"We need to talk to Carlisle."

It was all so frustrating! In a voice so low that I was struggling to hear myself, I told them,

"Stop staring, could you all be anymore obvious if you tried?! I can't read her thoughts, so we'll have to tell Carlisle about this later."

Alexia was looking at us, in a way that seemed as if she had heard every word I'd said.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Quick author's note:**_

_**This is the first fanfiction I've ever published online, so reviews are much appreciated, as well as **__**constructive **__**criticism! I know the chapters are a bit short at the moment, but I've just got back from DofE! And thank you so, so much for reading, I'm honoured that at the time of writing, 9 people have had a look, so thanks **___

_**Carlisle**_

"What is it? What's happened?" Esme was on our kids in a flash, picking up on their worried faces. Edward quickly relayed everything about this mysterious new girl to us, which made me recall something else that had happened today.

"Half of the hospital's blood bags vanished in the space of 5 minutes today. One minute I was in there and it was packed, then suddenly they were gone!" I added.

"What do you think she is, Carlisle?" Alice whispered.

"Alice, I don't think it's fair to assume she's the culprit at the moment!" Esme scolded. The cogs were turning rapidly in my head, recalling memories from hundreds of years ago.

"When I stayed with the Volturi, they told me about the existence of another species of vampire. They didn't know much as fact, just that they were very different to us, and that they looked down on us." That last part drew strong reactions from the room.

"Why on earth would they do that?!" Rosalie exclaimed, scowling.

"Well, I'd imagine it's partially because we sparkle in the sunlight," I started, but Emmett's scoffing put me off.

"So, we sparkle, and?"

"And, Emmett, we're meant to be fierce predators! Sparkling's a bit… weird. Not exactly intimidating, is it?" He grunted in approval, and I carried on. "Also, I've heard they're a lot faster and stronger than s with better senses, and their hearts are still beating."

"What? Faster than us?!"

I nodded. "You should try and befriend this girl, find out more about her."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note:_**

**_Well, here's the next chapter! Sorry for the wait, I've only just got back from holiday, and I think this might be a bit short again... I would really appreciate it if you gave me some feedback, so thanks in advance :)_**

**_Lexi_**

I tore into a blood bag and drained it in seconds. I was so thirsty, and I needed more, if I was going to get through a day of school.

I saw a man cornering a girl in an alley. Perfect. Without thinking, I sprinted in front of him and snarled, feeling my fangs come out. Before he had the chance to blink, let alone scream, his blood was flowing into my mouth. In the bliss of it, I suddenly remembered where I was and what I was doing. Horrified, I backed away, tore my wrist open, and thrust it in his face.

"You're going to go home, stop attacking people, and forget this ever happened." Once I was satisfied that his wound had healed, I ran to school and straight to the bathroom.

What had come over me? I hadn't attacked a human for years! Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I was shocked to see I still had my fangs, and veins around my eyes. Ugh! It must've been being here that had done it.

"Alexia?" I hadn't noticed the door open, and one of the cold ones was standing right behind me, staring at my face in alarm. I had to do something.

"Oh, hey… Bella, isn't it?" I forced a smile on my face and took deep breaths, thankfully feeling my face return to normal.

"Yeah… um, your face… it…" The poor girl was stumbling over her words, so I seized the opportunity. Staring into her eyes, I said

"You're going to forget what you saw. You walked in here, saw me putting my makeup on, and we had a nice chat. You welcomed me to the school, and then you had to go." Her face was blank, and I was satisfied to see that I could still compel cold ones.

**_Bella_**

As I walked into the cafeteria I felt ill, which was wrong because vampires don't get ill. It was probably because I was still reeling from what Carlisle had told us yesterday, but I'd spoken to Alexia earlier, and we'd had a really nice chat.

"Bella?" I joined my table and looked at my husband. _My husband._ I would never, ever get tired of calling him that.

"We were thinking that we should invite Alexia to sit with us, to try and find out more about her. Didn't you talk to her earlier?" I nodded, and called out.

"Alexia! Come sit over here!" She looked shocked, but she came over anyway. I noticed her plate was filled with food, a stark contrast to everyone around me but Jake.

"Alright, stop with the act. You only invited me over here to question me, because you want to know what I am. I'm not stupid." I was stunned at the venom in her words, and confused as to how she knew.

"Can you read minds?" Edward was curious to have maybe found another with an ability similar to his. Alexia replied with a snort.

"I don't need to, when people tell me anyway." Wait, someone had told her? "Who here feels ill?" As I raised my hand along with Jasper, she looked triumphant. "Usually compelling cold ones has that effect."

"You compelled me?!" Jasper growled. I shot him a look – we were attracting too much attention.

Alexia smiled. "You told me everything about your little family meeting about me last night… Carlisle Cullen's kids…"

"You know Carlisle?" Alice asked.

"Knew. He's changed." A haunted look came across her face for a second, then vanished.

"Will you come to our house tonight? I think maybe we started this wrong, and we would really like to get to know you." Edward said. Alexia stood up and tossed her hair back.

"Fine. I'll be there. But now I need to find something more… filling."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Carlisle**_

"Carlisle." The girl my family had been so concerned about walked into my living room, and her eyes flashed with recognition.

"Lexi?!" I was... well, shocked is a bit of an understatement, but I was completely astounded.

"Bet you didn't expect to find me here, did you?" Her words were sharp, but not as bitter as I'd expected.

"Lexi..."

"No. Don't. We'll have that conversation another time, but not in front of your 'family'."

"Yes, we will." The rest of my family had stayed silent throughout our exchange, but I knew Edward had picked up on our history. His face was filled with horror.

"So. Can we talk about vamp species or what?" Jacob said, clearly impatient, and wanting to relay this information about a possible new threat to his pack.

"Right. Lexi... would you rather we went somewhere else?" I noticed she had been standing in the shadows of the room instead of the slivers of light poking through the clouds.

"No... but could you close the curtains?" Emmett did this in seconds. It was obvious that he wanted to show off, he hated the idea of being seen as inferior by Lexi's kind.

"Well, we know you're a vampire, but what makes you different to us 'cold ones'?" Esme started.

"The sunlight burns me, unless I was to have a witch make me a daylight ring."

"Wait. There are witches?!" Jasper exclaimed.

"And real werewolves. There are witches all over the place, they just keep their gifts hidden."

"So why don't you have a daylight ring?" Rosalie asked, not buying her story so far.

"Unfortunately for me, most witches can't stand vampires. They take one look at me, give me a killer headache and run. I also heal extremely well. Watch this." She sprung up and in milliseconds she was by the curtains. She ripped them open and stuck her hand into a little sunlight. Her hand suddenly starting burning, and burst into flames.

"What are you doing?! Stop!" Bella yelled, terrified. Lexi laughed in reply, even though her face showed complete agony, and shook the flames off.

"Told you I burn in the sunlight. Now, look at this." I had never seen anything like it, but the wound closed, and within seconds her hand looked perfectly fine.

"So how can you be killed?" Jake interjected.

"Yeah, as if I'm going to tell you that! Any questions that I'll actually answer?" Alice spoke up.

"How do you get blood?" Ah, the big question.

"Before I answer, I know you guys are those veggie cold ones that only drink animal blood, and my friend Stefan does that. I tried it, lasted two weeks. To be honest, I find it disgusting, so I drink the human stuff." My family gasped in horror. I was shocked too. The Lexi I had known had been one of the most caring people I'd ever come across.

"But... don't the humans you drink from turn when you bite?" Bella was confused, as were the rest of us.

"Nah, the way people become vampires is more complicated than that. Anyway, I don't drink from humans, I use blood bags from hospitals." That explained the disappearance from the hospital.

"How do people become vampires then?" Esme asked.

"Well, vampire blood heals people, which can be pretty useful, unless someone dies with vampire blood in their system. Then they begin transition, and they have about 24 hours to drink human blood to complete the change, or they die."

"How did you die?" I froze, but Lexi seemed to take it in her stride.

"I'm not discussing that. Now if you excuse me, I need a drink." She pulled a blood bag out of her bag and ripped into it. But her face... it changed into the face of... some kind of demon.

"What the hell?!" Jacob yelled. Rosalie turned and scowled at him.

"Did you have to? Were you dropped as a puppy?" She sneered. Would those two ever get along?

"Nah, it's fine," Lexi smirked. "Happens when I feed, or I get pissed off. Adds to the whole predator thing."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, almost all of our questions answered. Then Edward spoke:

"Why did you come here?" Lexi stayed silent a while.

"I found my boyfriend draining humans, and I couldn't be with him like that. I was going to go and see my friend Stefan, but I thought I'd wait until his birthday next year and surprise him,"

"But why here?" Esme asked.

"I've been here before, in the 18th century, and I remembered how overcast it was. When the weather's like this, I can go outside during the day for a bit, I can go to school and pretend I'm human. School back when I was human... it wasn't exactly how it is today." She smiled, and I smiled too, knowing exactly what she meant.

"When were you human?"

"I was born in 1659 and I died in 1681, making me 21 or 350, depending on how you look at it." Then Emmett said something I had really been hoping no one would notice.

"Hey, Carlisle, weren't you around then?" Esme nodded.

"Yeah, you were born in 1640 and turned in 1663. Did you know each other?" I nodded.

"We both lived in London at that time, yes, but Lexi was only 4 when I was turned, I only knew her sister." Lexi glared at me, as did Edward. They both knew what I'd left out.

"Hang on, you keep on calling her Lexi, but she didn't say you could or anything. Are you leaving something out?" Jasper looked at me.

Lexi got up and stood in front of me. "Yeah he missed something out. He killed me."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Lexi**_

Carlisle bent his head in shame as his family gasped in shock.

"Carlisle, you said you'd never killed anyone!" Bella cried. His family had had such faith in him, believed in his way of life, his 'inspiring' struggle with bloodlust, and now it had fallen to pieces.

"It... it was an accident." He whispered.

"What, you accidently struck that match? You accidently threw it into the house? You accidently barricaded every exit?" I hissed. This perfect image of his had gone on long enough.

"You were going to leave me."

"Maybe... maybe we should all calm down and hear this story," Edward said, his voice shaking. This mindreader couldn't get into my head, so he only knew Carlisle's side of the story.

"Well, in 1663 I lived happily in London with my parents and my older brother and sister. One night, Pastor Carlisle Cullen came to our house, but he was different to the man who had led services in the church in the square. He looked even more handsome than he had before, and his eyes were shockingly red against his marble white skin. He forced his way into my home and as I hid under my parents' bed, he drained each and every member of my family of their blood.

"Afterwards, I thought it safe to come out, and I saw the monster from last night weeping with regret on the living room floor. He looked at me and apologised for his actions, promising to take care of me, and for the next 16 years he did just that.

"He quickly moved us away from London and taught me all he knew during the day. At night, he would leave to hunt, and when he returned, his eyes were a vivid red.

"When I was 21, I came across two vampires in the forest; Rose and Trevor. They had angered the one of the most powerful vampires, an Original vampire, and he was hunting them.

"Rose read my mind and discovered I was living with a Cold One. She saw what he had done to my family and she and Trevor told me how dangerous it was to be anywhere near one. They didn't want to, as it was what had landed them in their mess in the first place, but Rose fed me her blood and compelled me to forget that meeting, but to leave Carlisle as soon as I could.

"I returned home feeling even more lonely than usual, and decided that I wanted to leave, see the world, meet people. When I told Carlisle this, he stormed out, and I went to my room to pack.

"Then the house was set on fire, and I tried desperately to get out. I saw Carlisle, begged him to help, but he just coldly looked on, whilst blocking every exit I tried.

"It wasn't the smoke that killed me, but the flames. There were so, so many - Carlisle had been very thorough. So I burned to death, and eventually I woke up. I was in transition.

"The fire had burned itself out, and I found myself with a burning desire for blood. I left the house and drained the first person I came across, remembering what Rose and Trevor had told me. I wasn't a Cold One, I was a vampire. All I knew then was that I needed blood, I would never feel the sun again, and I wanted revenge."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Carlisle**_

There was silence for a few minutes as my family took in the horrors Lexi had told them.

"So is that why you came here? For revenge?" I asked.

Lexi looked offended. "No! I told you, I wanted to get away from my boyfriend and try to live a human life."

"Bit hard to do when you're a bloodsucking monster," Jacob muttered. Lexi smiled sweetly at him, and suddenly he was up against the wall with her hand around his throat.

"I heard that, mutt. You heal fast, right?" Jacob attempted to nod. "Good." Lexi reached out into his chest. "Feel that? Feel my fingernails scratching your heart? Grabbing it? I could rip it out as easily as blinking. Do us all a favour, don't tempt me." Then she dropped him.

"Jake!" Nessie ran towards him whilst Bella lunged at Lexi.

"Too slow," she tutted, as she grabbed Bella and threw her through the ceiling.

"Lexi." She stopped and looked at me.

"I came here to forgive you, Carlisle. I didn't want to hurt anyone." She ran off, out of the house, before I could say anything.

"Carlisle!" Edward shouted, and my medical instincts kicked in as I turned to Jacob, gasping in pain on the floor.

"Will he be okay?!" Nessie asked desperately.

"He'll be fine. He's already healing."

"Good. So we can deal with other matters," Jasper growled furiously. "This other kind of vampire is clearly much stronger, faster and more dangerous than we are. Can we let her stay here?"

"Well, you said it, Jazz. She's at an advantage, I think she'll be the one deciding who stays." Alice said.

"I don't think that's our biggest priority at the moment." Bella jumped down the hole in the ceiling and glared at me. "What else have you been lying about Carlisle?"

"Nothing. It was when Lexi left that I stopped drinking blood, and everything else I told you is the truth... just shifted a few years." Rosalie looked at Edward.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"Wait, you have to ask whether he's telling the truth now? You've known him for nearly a hundred years!" Esme shouted.

"He's lied to us all for a hundred years!" Rosalie shot back. "He left out that he slaughtered the family of an innocent 5 year old, and burned her alive 16 years later! Forgive me if I'm having doubts about his honesty, Esme!"

"Come on, Rose, all of us, with the exceptions of Bella and Nessie, have killed, what makes Carlisle different?" Emmett said soothingly. "You killed Royce and those other men."

"But he lied! He allowed us all to put him up on a pedestal, feel sympathy for him and his struggle, marvel at his self control, when it was all lies!" She moved towards the door. "Can none of you see it?!"

"Rosalie, where are you going?" I said quietly.

"Away from here. Don't any of you try to stop me."

Again, there was silence as the door slammed behind Rosalie. Looking around, only Emmett and Esme's faces were clear of the looks of betrayal that filled everyone else's.

"Bella, Nessie, I think maybe we should go back home now. Jacob?" Jacob pulled himself up and the four of them sprinted off.

"It's late. I think I'll go to bed." Jasper walked upstairs and Alice followed without saying a word.

"Carlisle?"

"I'll be right up, Esme. Emmett, will you be okay?"

"I don't know."

_**Rosalie**_

I was still furious at Carlisle. I felt absolutely betrayed. But I'd managed to follow Lexi's trail and we'd got to know eachother. Walking into school, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. The mysterious new girl with a Cullen.

"Hey, Rose, I just need to get a drink." Lexi said, and steered us towards the bathroom.

"Would you mind keeping a lookout? Bella caught me in here yesterday, and I'd rather keep the compulsion to a minimum." The whites of her eyes suddenly went red as she pulled out a bloodbag and sank her fangs into it.

"What's it like?" I asked as we headed towards history.

"What's what like?"

"When you drink blood, and your face goes all..."

"Evil?" Lexi laughed. "It's like... I feel so full of power, and the control that I usually have to keep a tight grip on tried harder to slip away. And you know what? When I'm like that, I don't want control. I want to lose myself in bloodlust, and drain everyone around me." Her face looked wistful. Now I knew how humans felt when they realised they were in the presence of monsters.

We entered the classroom and there was no sign of the teacher.

"Shit." I whispered as we sat down. "Jasper's in this class." Before she could reply, a man walked into the room. He smelled weird, like Lexi did, and he gave off the impression of having been around far longer than anyone else.

"For fuck's sake!" She muttered, looking at the man.

"Hello, class. Your previous teacher is, unfortunately, unable to continue teaching you, therefore the job falls onto me. My name is Mr Mikaelson, but please, call me Elijah."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Rosalie**_

He walked slowly down the middle of the classroom, examining every single one of us.  
"I'm afraid my predecessor hasn't left any guidance on what you've been studying... anyone?" Beside me, a snapping sound alerted me to the fact that Lexi was tense, as if she was ready to jump out of the window. She had just snapped her pencil and was now in the process of removing the lead from the bottom half.

"The 1920s, sir." The answer came from Jasper, sitting at the desk in the back left corner that I had always joined him at until today. I could see the suspicion in his eyes - he could sense just as well as I could the threat our new teacher may pose.

"Ah, yes, the Roaring Twenties - American History, I presume?" A few students sniggered, but he had a clear English accent. Maybe he had spent the 20s there? "Let's see... I want you all to write down everything you know about the 20s, maybe that will give me some guidance on where to begin." I opened my book and started writing. Lexi's book stayed closed, and her pencil looked very much like a stake. Elijah strolled to our desk, like a teacher checking his pupils were behaving.

"Miss Branson, is it?" She nodded. "Very... interesting company you keep Alexia." I stopped writing and looked at him.

"Excuse me, Elijah? What do you mean by that?" He smirked at me and snatched Lexi's pencil-stake.

"Stay behind after class, Miss Hale. I need to speak with you both." He walked off and I turned to Lexi.

"What the hell?!" I whispered at, a volume only vampires would be able to hear. She shook her head and opened her book. Her hand moved rapidly across the page, and she gestured to me to read what she had written.

He can hear us. This is very bad.

***

_**Lexi**_

"Thank you for staying behind, ladies. I see you've befriended the local Cold Ones, Alexia. Given your past with them, I would've thought they'd all be dead by now."

Next to me, Rose was confused and angry. "Just who the hell are you, and why is who Lexi makes friends with any of your business? Suddenly she was on the floor with his hand around her throat.

"I am a thousand year old Original vampire, little girl, and it is not wise to provoke me. I cannot be killed, and it would be all to easy to rip you apart and burn the pieces."

"Stop, Elijah. What do you want? Why did you come here?" He let Rose up and scowled at the wall.

"Is Stefan Salvatore with you?"

Dread filled me as I tried to think of what Stefan could have done to piss off an Original. "No, I haven't seen him for a while... has he gone over the edge again?"

"I have no idea. I'm looking for Katerina Petrova."

Relief for Stefan was quickly replaced with the wariness that always came with thoughts if Katherine. "Katherine Pierce? She's dead, right? She burned in Mystic Falls in 1864."

Elijah looked at me like a parent looks at their child after hearing an obvious lie. "Come now, Alexia, we both know that's not true."

"Fine. I last saw her in the 80s at a Bon Jovi concert. But don't tell either Salvatore she's still alive - she's bad news."

Rosalie spoke up beside me. "Why are you suddenly teaching here if you want to find this Katherine vampire? Surely it'll cause questions when you leave?"

"I won't be leaving for some time, Rosalie. You see, I have some business with my brother that needs taking care of, and I quite enjoy teaching." I would've laughed if not for the part about his brother.

"Klaus? What does he have to do with any of this?"

"That is none of your business. You are dismissed." I grabbed Rose's arm and ran to the bathroom. Quickly I pulled a blood bag out and drained it, but it wasn't enough.

"Lexi? You ok?" I heard her, but her voice sounded distant. Just then, a girl walked out of a cubicle. Looking at me, she saw my face and opened her mouth.

"Don't scream," I compelled her, and went for her neck.

_**Rosalie**_

Lexi was drinking a girl's blood, even though she had told us she didn't drink from humans. I could smell it... it smelled so sweet, I needed to taste it.

"No, Rose." Lexi wiped her mouth and looked into the girl's eyes. "Cover that wound up, and forget this." Once she left, Lexi turned to me.

"What was that?"

"What, Elijah or the girl?"

"Both!"

"Firstly, remember what I said earlier about losing control? I just lost it."

"Okay..." I said shakily. "What about Elijah?"

"He's an Original vampire. They're all a thousand years old and they can't be killed. He's looking for a vampire that got on their bad side nearly 500 years ago."

I let out a low whistle. "That's a long time to hold a grudge."

"Which is why Elijah's being here is very bad. Klaus, his worse brother, has a very famous hatred for Cold Ones. He's the kind to hold a grudge."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and tried to sort everything out in my head. "So, an unkillable vampire has moved into Forks because he's looking for some girl who got on his brother's bad side, and this brother hates me and my family?"  
"That's about it, yeah." We both stood there going through our options.

"We have to tell the others about this." Lexi sighed.

"Unfortunately, you're right. Lunchtime?"

Lexi nodded in agreement, and headed off to her next lesson.


End file.
